A Priest We All May Know At One Time Or Another

I like this guy. Nothing like tradition...

-Joe

“Life is like a piano... what you get out of it depends on how you play it.”

The Pope's brother Msgr. Georg Ratzinger — for thirty years choirmaster of Regensburg Cathedral — recently gave an interview to the Swiss Catholic press agency KIPA, in which he divulged that Benedict XVI's favourite musical pieces are the Clarinet Quintet and the Clarinet Concerto. Inside the Vatican reported that Benedict was playing Mozart on his piano on the Sunday afternoon following his installation as Pope, when he returned to his old apartment to see his brother. And papal biographer George Weigel said in Newsweek after Benedict's election that "here is another surprise for cartoonists of the dour Ratzinger: he's a Mozart man, which I take to be an infallible sign of someone who is, at heart, a joyful person."

But let's hear Pope Benedict himself on the subject. In the extended interview that was published ten years ago as Salt of the Earth we read: "You are a great lover of Mozart." " Yes! Although we moved around a very great deal in my childhood, the family basically always remained in the area between the Inn and the Salzach. And the largest and most important and best parts of my youth I spent in Traunstein, which very much reflects the influence of Salzburg. You might say that there Mozart thoroughly penetrated our souls, and his music still touches me very deeply, because it is so luminous and yet at the same time so deep. His music is by no means just entertainment; it contains the whole tragedy of human existence."

Quicksand

Forget about the monsters, giant bugs and ghosts. When I was a lad, the biggest and wierdest danger to any hero or hapless wanderer in the movies was QUICKSAND!



Quicksand offered filmmakers a simple recipe for excitement: A pool of water, thickened with oatmeal, sprinkled over the top with wine corks. It was, in its purest form: "My gosh, we're sinking! Will we escape this life-threatening situation before time runs out?" Those who weren't rescued simply vanished from the script: "It's too late—he's gone." The alternative was no less random: Surviving quicksand has always required more good fortune than skill. Is that a lasso over there? A tendril from a banyan tree, perhaps. It is brought to mind as the children and I saw the Socerer's Apprentice -- the newest and coolest version of quicksand and ther serendipitous escape.


Speaking of quicksand, Maureen is married.

What can I say? Librarians rule!" --Regis Philbin

I came across this article from NPR... check it out! Here

When words leave off, music begins. Heinrich Heine

Yes, it is June. As any parent can tell you, it is crunch time for parents. The halcyon days when you can sit in a crowded and hot and sweaty auditorium awaiting your child's few minutes of fame. Of course, no school district is different when it comes to inconvenient timing, (not enough time to eat dinner), length, (at least 3 hours), and date, (but John, Paul, Mag and Veronica have something on that date, too.) But then the girls sit down at the bench and all those inconveniences are tossed out the window. Just the girls and the piano keys!!! Enjoy.

Do not handicap your children by making their lives easy. Robert Heinlein

I rather enjoy making my children's lives difficult. However, it does pay off for them.



A little known fact is that some 15 years or so ago, Maureen, too, played the clarinet. She came to hate it.

Lost in the Music?

If you have ever wondered what music for soundtracks is made of, I think you'll like the video clip you can find here . An aside: Gone "viral" is a show called Glee. Maureen and Claire both love the show, primarily because of this:
and this:

Hank Jones RIP

"To me, music consists of melody, rhythm and harmony, and if it lacks any one of those three elements, then it's not music anymore." - Hank Jones Hank Jones, whose self-effacing nature belied his stature as one of the most respected jazz pianists of the postwar era, died on Sunday in the Bronx. He was 91. By the 1980s, Mr. Jones’s late-blooming career as a band leader was in full swing. While he had always recorded prolifically — by one estimate he can be heard on more than a thousand albums — for the first time he concentrated on recording under his own name, which he continued to do well into the 21st century. He is survived by his wife, Theodosia. Mr. Jones was named a National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master in 1989. He received the National Medal of Arts in 2008 and a lifetime achievement Grammy Award in 2009. And he continued working almost to the end. Laurel Gross, a close friend, said he had toured Japan in February and had plans for a European tour this spring until doctors advised against it. “I never tried consciously to develop a ‘touch,’ ” he told The Detroit Free Press in 1997. “What I tried to do was make whatever lines I played flow evenly and fully and as smoothly as possible. “I think the way you practice has a lot to do with it,” he explained. “If you practice scales religiously and practice each note firmly with equal strength, certainly you’ll develop a certain smoothness. I used to practice a lot. I still do when I’m at home.” Mr. Jones was 78 years old at the time.

Jon Anderson

When we saw Jon Anderson at B. B. King's Blue's Club we saw a lot of guys my age re-living the old glory days of the 70's when "Yes" was one of the great concert bands and bell bottom jeans and tank top shirts were the rage. If I remember it, I'll try to get my SUNY at Buffalo freshman ID posted and you'll see how much a hippie Uncle Joe really was. I sort of looked like a friendly Charles Manson. If you ask Paul what his favorite thing in NYC was, he'd tell you the nachos platter that had shredded beef up to the ceiling at B. B. King's. Meanwhile, while Paul was immersed in his nachos platter, this rather overweight 50 ish guy, (no, not me!) leaned over and told me that this was his 950th concert in his life. So, the guy has, in effect, for three full years of his life, been going to concerts. Given the fact that many of us spend one-third of our lives sleeping, (n.b., in Paul and John's lives it is about 2/3rds sleeping!), going to see concerts for 3 years of your life isn't something to be dismissed easily.

Jon Anderson

The boys and I were lucky enough to get to see some plays, (West Side Story and Wicked) and some music, (Jon Anderson and also The Bad Plus) at some great places. John and I went out to play at the Blue Note in the Village and saw the Bad Plus. Through great seating, we were right up against front and center stage. A dream come true for me... If I had the time and money, I would have gone from the Blue Note, over to the Village Vanguard, then to Birdland, then to Dizzy's Club and then to Iridium. A lot of history there. But we also really got into Jon Anderson who is the lead singer for Yes. Paul was able to get some video of Anderson during the evening, and what a smoothie and what a great concert!!!!!!!!!

We were in the Big Apple because Paul had an appointment with the Perkins School for the Blind -- a weekend program to help prepare for life after High School. Yes, there is life after high school! We had a great time. If anyone would like to go to NYC just get in touch with me and with Paul and John and we will take you down. Time Square, Radio City Music Hall, the Apple Store, Central Park, the Met, the MOMA, the U.N., the Village, Battery Park, Statue of Liberty, Empire State Building, ESPN Zone, etc.

More Later...

Good Friday

From time to time we have all prayed the Apostle's Creed. In the Creed there is a disjunctive and shocking statement: "He desended into Hell", that is, after His crucifixion, after His death, Jesus went to Hell. What does that mean? Well, here is what the catechism says: "The frequent New Testament affirmations that Jesus was "raised from the dead" presuppose that the crucified one sojourned in the realm of the dead prior to his resurrection. This was the first meaning given in the apostolic preaching to Christ's descent into hell: that Jesus, like all men, experienced death and in his soul joined the others in the realm of the dead. But he descended there as Saviour, proclaiming the Good News to the spirits imprisoned there. "Scripture calls the abode of the dead, to which the dead Christ went down, "hell" - Sheol in Hebrew or Hades in Greek - because those who are there are deprived of the vision of God. Such is the case for all the dead, whether evil or righteous, while they await the Redeemer: which does not mean that their lot is identical, as Jesus shows through the parable of the poor man Lazarus who was received into "Abraham's bosom. It is precisely these holy souls, who awaited their Saviour in Abraham's bosom, whom Christ the Lord delivered when he descended into hell. Jesus did not descend into hell to deliver the damned, nor to destroy the hell of damnation, but to free the just who had gone before him. "The gospel was preached even to the dead." The descent into hell brings the Gospel message of salvation to complete fulfilment. This is the last phase of Jesus' messianic mission, a phase which is condensed in time but vast in its real significance: the spread of Christ's redemptive work to all men of all times and all places, for all who are saved have been made sharers in the redemption. Christ went down into the depths of death so that "the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live." Jesus, "the Author of life", by dying destroyed "him who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and [delivered] all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong bondage." Henceforth the risen Christ holds "the keys of Death and Hades", so that "at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth." Today a great silence reigns on earth, a great silence and a great stillness. A great silence because the King is asleep. The earth trembled and is still because God has fallen asleep in the flesh and he has raised up all who have slept ever since the world began. . . He has gone to search for Adam, our first father, as for a lost sheep. Greatly desiring to visit those who live in darkness and in the shadow of death, he has gone to free from sorrow Adam in his bonds and Eve, captive with him - He who is both their God and the son of Eve. . . "I am your God, who for your sake have become your son. . . I order you, O sleeper, to awake. I did not create you to be a prisoner in hell. Rise from the dead, for I am the life of the dead."

Holy Thursday

HOLY THURSDAY is the most complex and profound of all religious observances, saving only the Easter Vigil. It celebrates both the institution by Christ himself of the Eucharist and of the institution of the priesthood. In His last supper with the disciples, a celebration of Passover, He is the self-offered Passover Victim, and every ordained priest to this day presents this same sacrifice, by Christ's authority and command, in exactly the same way. The Last Supper was also Christ's farewell to His assembled disciples, some of whom would betray, desert or deny Him before the sun rose again. On Holy Thursday there is a special Mass in Cathedral Churches, attended by as many priests of the diocese as can attend, because it is a solemn observance of Christ's institution of the priesthood. At this 'Chrism Mass' the bishop blesses the Oil of Chrism used for Baptism and Confirmation. The bishop may wash the feet of twelve of the priests, to symbolize Christ's washing the feet of his Apostles, the first priests. The Holy Thursday liturgy Mass that most of us go to, celebrated in the evening because Passover began at sundown, also shows both the worth God ascribes to the humility of service, and the need for cleansing with water (a symbol of baptism) in the Mandatum, or washing in Jesus' washing the feet of His disciples, and in the priest's stripping and washing of the altar. Cleansing, in fact, gave this day of Holy Week the name Maundy Thursday. The action of the Church on this night also witnesses to the Church's esteem for Christ's Body present in the consecrated Host in the Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, carried in solemn procession to the flower-bedecked Altar of Repose, where it will remain 'entombed' until the communion service on Good Friday. No Mass will be celebrated again in the Church until the Easter Vigil proclaims the Resurrection. And finally, there is the Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament by the people during the night, just as the disciples stayed with the Lord during His agony on the Mount of Olives before the betrayal by Judas. There is such an abundance of symbolism in the solemn celebration of the events of Holy Thursday layer upon layer, in fact that I can no more than hint at it in these few words. For many centuries, the Last Supper of Our Lord has inspired great works of art and literature, such as the glorious stained glass window in Chartres cathedral, Leonardo's ever popular (and much imitated) Last Supper in the 16th century, (above), and the reminiscence called Holy Thursday, by the French novelist, Franasois Mauriac, written in the 1930s.

Wednesday of Holy Week

If you had not noticed, it is Holy Week. And, not only Holy Week, but the last day before Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter -- known as the Easter Triduum. In today's liturgy we hear of Judas. We all remember him as the traitor of the twelve. He was the man of whom Jesus spoke that it would be "better for him had he never been born." About 10 years ago I read Dante's Inferno. Dante and Virgil go to the lowest of Hell, the 9th circle. Dante becomes aware of a great shape in the distance, hidden by fog. Right under his feet he notices sinners completely covered in ice, sometimes several feet deep, contorted into various positions. These souls constitute the most evil of all sinners -- the Traitors to their Benefactors. Dante and Virgil advance toward the giant mist-shrouded shape and see that it is Lucifer.

He stands on the icy lake, his torso rising above the surface. Dante sees that Lucifer has three horrible faces, one looking straight ahead and the others looking back over his shoulders. Beneath each frozen head rises a set of wings, which wave back and forth, creating the icy winds that keep the circle frozen. Each of Lucifer's mouths holds a sinner -- all Traitors to a Benefactor. Two of them, Brutus and Cassius murdered Caesar in the Senate and appear with their heads out. Judas Iscariot is lodged headfirst, only his twitching legs protrude. The mouths chew their victims, constantly tearing the traitors to pieces, but never killing them. Such is that which betrayal does in its own fashion, is it not? It is perhaps the most chilling poem I have ever read. (Yes, I know, a terrible pun..., but it did scare me as I was reading it late at night.) It was, however, not the betrayal that cost Judas his soul to be given to Lucifer. After all, even St. Peter denied Christ three times. Most of the apostles fled on Good Friday. Even the sin of betrayal of Christ could have been forgiven. What could not be forgiven was Judas' despair and loss of hope, that is, the feeling that he could never have been forgiven by God.

“A person without a sense of humor is like a wagon without springs. It's jolted by every pebble on the road.”

When I was just a kid in high school many years ago almost everyone watched the Dean Martin Roasts. They would "roast" a guest for about one hour. I vividly recall sitting in the living room with my dad watching this particular roast of Don Rickles, when Foster Brooks came on. We were both laughing our butts off. However, Foster faded from view because of the change in public sensitivity concerning alcoholism and drunk driving. Brooks continued his career on television doing more sober characters. He died in 2001 at age 89.

I Stole This From Maureen's Blog

This appears at Maureen's Blog, http://dusup.blogspot.com/

She has some great postings and you'll love it. I stole this from Maureen because it is so good.

--Joe

Before I got married I had six theories about bringing up children; now I have six children, and no theories.

We have surveillance cameras in front of our house, and I thought you'd like to see what happened to Maureen when she first started dating Luke!

Despite the assault, the wedding is still on.

-- Joe

Snow sledding and huskies. Magdalene and Veronica are ready for the trek!

Claire and Magdalene and Veronica were lucky enough to have gone to Lake Placid yesterday. There's nothing so funny to Claire as a prat fall:

Colyn first established this website as a compendium of memories regarding family. I'll never forget the time that Al and Theresa, Cindy and Luis, and Kathleen and I went to dinner and Theresa ruined the whole dinner: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LS37SNYjg8w

Kathleen, later, showed her prowess at driving: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39qdhbkTko4&feature=related

Cindy leads the way in showing us how to get a good man: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZ0jRuASVEQ&feature=related

The ending of the Bridge Over The River Kwai is one of the best endings in the history of movies. Alec Guiness won the Academy Award for Best Actor. The movie won the Award for Best Picture. Jack Hawkins and William Holden co-stared. Enjoy!

With the Academy Awards coming up, I thought that it would be nice to view a GREAT MOVIE. David Lean, who also produced Lawrence of Arabia and Passage to India won the Academy Award for The Bridge Over The River Kwai. The movie was adapted from a novel that was based upon the very real enslavement of British prisoners of Japan during World War II in building a railway in Burma. This is a great movie and well worth your time.

According to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission:
"The notorious Burma-Siam railway, built by Commonwealth, Dutch and American prisoners of war, was a Japanese project driven by the need for improved communications to support the large Japanese army in Burma. During its construction, approximately 13,000 prisoners of war died and were buried along the railway. An estimated 80,000 to 100,000 civilians also died in the course of the project, chiefly forced labour brought from Malaya and the Dutch East Indies, or conscripted in Siam (Thailand) and Burma (Myanmar). Two labour forces, one based in Siam and the other in Burma worked from opposite ends of the line towards the centre."
The incidents portrayed in the film are mostly fictional, and though it depicts bad conditions and suffering caused by the building of the Burma Railway and its bridges, to depict the reality would have been too appalling for filmgoers. Actually, from what I've read, the conditions were very much worse than that which is shown in the film.

All is well in Malone. More on that, later.

--Joe

Lockdown in Newark

There was an air-headed guard who allowed a major security breach at Newark Airport on January 3rd and he has been placed on administrative leave and booted from the airport, as a result of a security lapse, during which an unidentified man walked into a supposedly secure area of Terminal C. The foul-up occurred after the punished TSA guard stepped away from his post at the terminal's C1 exit-way - allowing the breach of security that fouled up flights for hours as thousands of passengers had to be re-screened.
Some have suggested the guard moved to chat on his cell-phone.
But be that as it may, I have learned a lesson. I am the most impatient man I know. I should take a page out of the book of these people who were forced to wait hours at Newark airport that evening.

Big Family Comedy Video

At dinner tonight Mom started up a conversation about new family activities. This reminded me of the following clip. Just a funny little thing about family activities.. Theres no real visual in the clip so all you have to do is listen. Enjoy and if you can relate to any of this comment on this post. This was taken from a CD featuring Brian Regan. Click Here

SWISHnSILVER